For Volunteering

Who can volunteer?

We welcome our community to come and help us in our kitchen, serve meals from our Angelmobile, drive our fleet of mobile soup kitchen vehicles, support our seasonal Angel Babies events, our brand new Little Angels program, and more! Signing up for our bi-weekly newsletter will let you know about our regular weekly shifts as well as micro-but-crucial opportunities for volunteering.

How do I sign up?

The best way to get involved is by signing up for one of our upcoming volunteer shifts. Please definitely sign up so we know how many volunteers to expect to minimize overcrowding!

Everything you’d need to know about available volunteer shifts and times can be found by visiting our Deed page. Attending your shift is important since we often have a waitlist! If you can’t make it to your scheduled shift, just let us know so that we won’t be short staffed.

To opt into our bi-weekly newsletter-type email and to have a greater sense of our emerging needs, sign up here! And of course, follow us on Instagram (@northbrooklynangels) if you’re on it.

If you are interested in driving our truck, please reach out to us at volunteer@northbrooklynangels.org and let us know! We are always looking for drivers.

What opportunities are available to children?

Ages 6-13: Our policy for parents interested in volunteering with their children is to volunteer with us a few times first to become familiar with our kitchen layout and shift flow. Once you’re oriented, you can volunteer alongside your child with advance notice. Given the pace of our meal prep and distribution timeline, we need to balance newcomers and younger volunteers with experienced volunteers.

High school students (ages 14-17): Students can volunteer independently with a signed parental waiver and permission form. To request the form, email volunteer@northbrooklynangels.org. Once we receive the signed form, the student can create a Deed account and sign up for shifts.

Parents who prefer to volunteer alongside their high school-aged children can do so—both parent and student will need to create Deed accounts and sign up for available spots.

Are there opportunities to volunteer besides your weekly lunch shifts?

Yes! Our bi-weekly newsletter will list these opportunities, or check in with us on social media for special opportunities including a Sunday Breakfast Shift, our seasonal Angel Babies events, as well as support for other special initiatives.

Our newest program, Little Angels, is now up and running with lots of volunteer opportunities to help North Brooklyn families year round! Learn more about Little Angels and how to get involved here.

Can I bring a group to volunteer?

Update as of Fall 2025: We’ve shifted our focus to prioritize individual local volunteers and support for our existing partners and donors. We are no longer hosting regular corporate volunteer groups or team events at our community kitchen.

However, corporate teams are welcome to participate in our Angel Babies pop-up events, which happen twice a year (Spring and Fall). We’re looking to reignite our Sprint event sometime in May 2026! For Angel Babies corporate volunteering opportunities, please contact us at volunteer@northbrooklynangels.org.

Besides volunteering, what other ways can I be involved?

Our organization runs on volunteers and incredibly lean staffing, so financial sponsorships and donations are essential! You can make a donation here.

For Meals

Where can I find the Angelmobile during the week?

Here is our Angelmobile schedule. All meals are first come, first served and we have limited meals at each location. If possible, please arrive a few minutes earlier than the schedule suggests for each location!

Who can get a meal?

Our hot meals are available to anyone who shows up at our community meal locations during the designated days and times of the week.

Do we need to show ID or proof of residence?

If you show up, we are happy to offer you a hot meal! No proof of residence or ID is required.

From time-to-time every few months, we do require signatures for our meals and grocery giveaways. All information is kept for counting purposes for our major funders and remains confidential.

Do you offer any other services?

Yes, in addition to our mobile soup kitchen program, we run two volunteer-driven family support programs:

Little Angels provides gently used essential infant and toddler gear—including strollers, car seats, high chairs, cribs, and clothing—to North Brooklyn households who are expectant and/or have children up to the age of 4 and live in zip codes 11222, 11211, 11249, or 11206. Families can request specific items through our online form, and we coordinate pickup or delivery. We accept gently used gear donations and always need volunteers to help with intake, sorting, and distribution.

Angel Babies is our volunteer-driven community giveaway event for local new and expectant families in need of resources, held twice a year in the spring and late fall. You can get involved by volunteering, donating, hosting a drive, or dropping off donations. More information is available here, and our bi-weekly newsletter provides timely updates about upcoming Angel Babies events.

Donations

Do you take donations of food?

Thank you so much for thinking of us! We partner with Rethink Food and other bulk food supply partners like Food Bank for NYC, City Harvest and Trader Joe’s food donations.

We do not take regular pantry donations. Donors are better off directing food to the community fridges in North Brooklyn. A map can be found here.

Do you take donations of household goods and adult clothing?

Thank you for thinking of us! We do not accept in-kind donations of household goods and adult clothing. From time to time, we will put a “call” out for some supplies for our kitchen, such as collapsible milk crates, and minor kitchen tools. You’re always more than welcome to ask by emailing fundraising@northbrooklynangels.org just in case!

North Brooklyn has so many opportunities for donations of adult clothing, so we focus on collecting maternity/infant/children clothing and related supplies on a seasonal basis. So we do not accept adult clothing, but we’d be happy to refer you to a local partner who does! Just email us.

Other

Is North Brooklyn Angels a religious organization?

We get this question from time to time because of our cherished partnerships with local churches! North Brooklyn Angels is a secular non-profit organization that prioritizes working in our community with, and serving individuals of all backgrounds. We partner with local church organizations because of their footprint in the community and because they also graciously host our mobile soup kitchen vehicles and other pop-up events for the community.